The present application relates to adaptive surface surgical guiding apparatuses, tools, devices, or guides (hereinafter “apparatus” or “apparatuses”) for use in surgical applications. This application also relates to methods for manufacturing adaptive surface surgical guiding apparatus and methods for using the adaptive surface surgical guiding apparatus in surgery.
Surgical guiding apparatuses have wide applications in orthopedic surgery. Surgical guiding apparatuses may allow a pre-operative surgical plan to be accurately transferred into the operating room. Further, surgical guiding apparatuses may help guide a surgical instrument, such as a cutting or drilling instrument, along a pre-defined cutting or drilling path.
Creating an exact representation of an anatomic surface using pre-operative medical imaging data may not always be possible. For example, various anatomical surfaces may include soft tissue that is not visible in certain types of medical images. As another example, anatomical surfaces may vary in shape from what is seen in the medical images. The lack of usable surfaces for designing a surgical guiding apparatus may lead to instability in the resulting apparatus. Furthermore, problems may arise when adjustable surgical guiding apparatuses, which may include components that can be positioned to attach to or around a part of the bone, are unstable or provide inaccurate surgical instrument guiding positions. For example, a surgical guiding apparatus may not fit well on a patient's bone and may be unstable as a result. Still further, the guiding position for a surgical instrument may be imprecise because of the amount of distance between the supporting anatomy and the planned point of entry of the surgical instrument.
In light of these and other deficiencies, there is a need for adaptive surface surgical guiding apparatuses that provide secure and stable attachment to an anatomical surface.